Technus' Gambit
by Vilkas
Summary: Technus had never claimed that humans weren’t confusing creatures.
1. Chapter 1

Technus felt all the air rushing out of his chest when the ectoblast hit him. While recuperating his sensors picked up a spike of energy. His foe was charging another ectoblast. His internal computers were frantically trying to process an ideal strategy. The battle had already damaged one of his sensors, fried several circuits, and drained his energy to an alarming level. His foe had not sustained any damage nor looked the slightest bit drained. His internal server came up with one tactic that would most likely succeed, a feint and tactical retreat.

His adversary's ectoblast was nearing in completion, in 0.4 seconds to be exact. Technus put his plan into motion. He fired a weak ectoblast at one of the human followers. Enough to harm the follower but not enough to kill. Technus did not need his foe seeking him out for killing one of the human followers. Predictably, his adversary abandoned his ectoblast and made a desperate dive to save his follower. Technus took advantage of this and shot towards the glowing ghost portal.

He could feel the ectowave patterns wash over his beaten form. Forcing his way through the waves he neared the end of the portal. Emerging from the portal he quickly about faced. He diverted more energy to his ectoshields; fully expecting his foe to come charging after him. As he floated backwards, an attempt to place more distance between him and the portal, his foe did not emerge from the portal. It seemed that Technus' ectoblast had found its' mark. Not questioning his goon fortune, he began his journey to his lab.

Although ghosts usually gave this particular ghost portal a wide berth. He kept his systems on high alert for other ghosts. It was not uncommon for ghosts to prey upon other ghosts. Technus was in no condition for another fight.

Frustrated beyond words, he was. Everything he had tried had failed miserably. He had been outmatched in every aspect. He could not match his adversary's strength. He was lucky if he could best Ember in a fair fight, never mind him. With his decades of existence and genius mind, one would think that he could outwit him. But even his most elaborate schemes were seen through at just the right moment. His foe was only a child for heaven's sake! That blasted ghost child had blocked his every attempt at world domination.

Reclining in his lab chair, Technus steepled his fingers and puzzled over his string of recent defeats. True the child had been able to best almost every ghost in the Ghost Zone. But it still irked him that he could not even claim one victory against the child. Not only had he been defeated by the child, but the child had pointed out errors in his own being! This was unacceptable, there must be some angle that he was missing.

Standing up and carefully avoiding and stepping over all of his experiments and inventions, he made his way to the back of his lab. Absentmindedly he noticed one of his failed experiments was making an interesting amount of sparks. He would have to look into it later. Finally reaching his destination he looked at the black board that resided in the back of his lab. He had been very through with the notes he kept on that board. The list of the child's powers had grown uncomfortably long. He had also mapped out the past battles he had with the child, including the most recent one. True he had all of this data stored away electronically in his memory banks, and he knew writing out all of this data was a waste of time. After all, he never physically recorded any data for his experiments or inventions. He just stored data electronically into his memory. He couldn't help but feel that this problem called for this method and this had been the way he had once done things long ago…

Turning his attention back towards the data, he began to reprocess the data. One of the key things that stood out in the data was that the child was unpredictable. Each time they fought the child would have a new mindset, new fighting style or new power. But the ghosts in the ghost zone they had… patterns. A set style or fighting method. This was what he used against his enemies. What he lacked in strength, he made up for in analysis. But his typical means of engaging in a few small skirmishes and then formulating a foolproof plan for the final battle just did not work against this child! The child was a being of ectoplasmic energy just as the rest of them were! The child should have the same weakness that the rest of them did. Why couldn't he find any?

Pushing away from the black board in frustration, he decided to lay the problem to sleep for now. Turned to look at his lab. His lab was not as sleek or modern as the labs that he had seen in the human world, but it served it's purpose. His lab had tables pushed up against all four walls and one large table in the middle of the room. Upon each of these tables dozens of experiments, devices and tools were heaped. Very few of these were completed. Many were either unfinished or failed. He couldn't bring himself to finish or focus on these projects. When ever he started a new project, it felt as though there was something else demanded his attention. Something from long ago… This subject was almost as frustrating as the ghost child topic. He had scanned his memory files over and over again for whatever it was that he needed to do. And always came up blank. He always had multitudes of ideas for inventions, but there was just something… arg! He lacked the data to know what it was. He had already searched the entire Ghost Zone's data network and came up with nothing… Then there was the human world. That world was overflowing with data, always changing and finding new data to add to the old. That world also had a powerful thing which the child and his followers called the 'internet'. He was certain that if he could gain access and control to that data he could uncover… whatever it was that he needed to do. But that confounded child always stood in his way!

A rather loud spark from one of his failed experiments caught his attention. Technus flew over to the sparking device. It had been a pity that this particular device had not worked. On one of his excursions to the human world he had managed to find several electrical components and bring them back to the Ghost Zone. He had tried to weave the human technology into already existing Ghost Zone technology. There had been unexpected affects. The interactions between the ghost and human technology had actually magnified the power of the device to nearly thrice of what the device could normally produce. Unfortunately the device had also sent out pulses that affected the very structure of the ghost zone. This had sent the entire Ghost Zone into a frenzy for days. Luckily no one had been able to trace the pulses back to his lab. He did not need a visit from Walker, thank you very much.

Technus began to gather up the experiment then paused. Carefully touching the human technology, he began to process a sudden stream of new data. What if the child was like this experiment? Technus had never paid much mind to the human portion of the child. Was the child like this failed experiment? Was the weak human component of the child magnifying it's ghostly component? If so… It would all make sense. In the Ghost Zone the general rule was that with age came power. The child was a baby when compared to the other ghosts in the Ghost Zone. Skulker had existed for so long that his ecto structure was in the process of reforming it's self. And even in that reforming state he was strong enough to control that mechanical suit. Yet the child could easily thwart him…

He frantically shuffled through his memory banks for the data on the experiment…

Experiment #1435

Goal: Discover the compatibility of human technology to ghostly technology.

Data: The experimental device at first seems to have difficulty accepting the foreign technology but after a time the device adapts to the new components. The experimental device functions just as smoothly as the other ghostly devices. The device is also much faster and produces much more energy than the other devices. In every aspect the experimental device is superior to the other devices. Unfortunately, the device sends out pulses that are hazardous to ghostly existence. Also, after a period of time, the experimental device begins to malfunction. Upon closer inspection, the device has been worn down by the extra power that was created from the union of the human and ghostly technology. In conclusion, the fusion of the two components greatly improves the general performance of the device, but greatly reduces the functioning time span of the device.

Application: This experiment has no practical use. Obtaining usable human technology is extremely difficult. Also merging these components tends to backfire rather than succeed. The life span of the device does not reimburse the time and resources that was used in the creation of the device.

Status: Failed

There were too many similarities to ignore. The child was much like the experiment and perhaps shared it's weakness… According to the data the child should have a much shorter life span than that of the normal human. In theory if he bided his time, the very energy the child used would eventual kill him. Technus knew there was no way to calculate the amount of time the child had left. His memory banks held little to no data on humans. For all he knew the child could have days to a decade left. Days? Fine he could wait that long, but he would not wait a decade or more.

So far he had been able to deduce that the child's powers did not depend on the ghostly portion but rather the union of his ghost and human halves. If he could accumulate more data on the child's human component. Then he could most likely formulate a plan. A plan that would hone in on and attack the very structure of the child.

As he began to rise into the air he could feel a gleeful smile stretch across his face. At last there was clear path for him to follow. Making his way out of his lab, he started his journey towards the Fenton ghost portal.


	2. Chapter 2

I apologize for any spelling/grammatical mistakes. If you see them point them out to me.

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Technus floated uncertainly before the portal. It had been several weeks since he and the child had fought. He had repaired himself and upgraded several programs within his system, since the fight. At the moment, Technus was attempting to figure out how to avoid the child's notice and yet still be able to collect data upon the child. Technus did not know the all the details behind the child's radar. The child often relied upon his radar to forewarn him of ghostly presences. Unfortunately Technus was a ghostly being. He figured that if he could phase himself within the circuits of the child's computer network the electrical impulses would cloak his presence from the child. He could then safely study the child. Bracing himself one final time he plunged through the ghost portal.

When his feet hit the solid floor of Fenton's lab, he quickly took in his surroundings. The room had been cleaned and repaired since his scuffle with the child. But to Technus' amusement there were no new additions to the lab. Perhaps he had overestimated the child's intelligence. There still were no sensors or alarms near the ghost portal. The child's sole warning was his internal radar.

Technus strode over to the computer and stood before it. Placing his hand upon the USB port, he sent a gentle pulse of energy into the computer. When the pulse returned to him he took note of all the security features and the general format of the computer. Now he began to format a file. This file would match the format of the computer and would allow him access to the entire house's network, without alerting any of its' security. Bit by bit Technus worked his way into the computer.

Safely within the computer, Technus began to go over the stored files within it. Technus was more than slightly impressed with the data and schematics stored here. The humans here were quite adept apparently at creating devices that could cause ghosts harm or general discomfort. Technus began to fabricate copies of this data. He would later go over them in detail, looking for flaws and ways to defend himself from these malevolent contraptions.

Once he completed his scan of the computer he began to seep into the network. There were three more computers within the household. Two were located on the second floor and another on the top floor. Picking one of the second floor computers randomly he began to scan it. This computer, Technus decided, was not as interesting as the computer in the lab but still held useful data. This computer contained data on the human psyche and several essays on different topics. Technus completed his scan and turned his attention to the other computer. This computer was filled with many useless programs. According to his memory banks, humans called these programs 'games'. Aside from the games it did have one useful file. This file contained information on several ghosts and the single other hybrid. Any data that Technus could get on the older halfa, he welcomed warmly. Technus then proceeded to the final computer. Technus' investigation of the computer on the top floor proved it to only be a back up for the computer in the lab.

To Technus' delight, he would not have to install any cameras. The humans had already outfitted their home with surveillance cameras. With these cameras he could safely observe the child. Though Technus was grateful for the abundance of cameras… weren't these humans slightly overly paranoid? A few cameras he could understand, but to even place a camera within the families food cooling and storage unit? Technus had never claimed that humans weren't confusing creatures.

There was only one possible error in Technus' plan. There was the possibility that the child could still sense his presence within the system. Technus had done all that he could to hide himself. All that was left, was to wait for the child to arrive.

Speaking of the child and his humans, where were they? Didn't humans spend most of their time in their dwellings? While Technus' synchronization and scan only took minutes. The prolonged absence of the humans was making him nervous. There was nothing else Technus could do until the child arrived. All that was left to do was to wait…

--

At last! From the outdoor camera Technus spied the human's automobile pulling into the driveway. From it emerged three figures, two females and one male. One was an average sized female clothed in a tight blue full body suit. From the manner of her clothing Technus could tell that she was in ideal shape for a human. The other female was slightly shorter and had much longer hair than the first female. The male was the one he had been waiting for, the child. The child was in his powerless human state. Technus could see that when he was earth bound, the child was shorter than the other two females. The child possessed jet black hair where the other two had an auburn hue. The only trait the three seemed to share was icy blue eyes.

All three of them began to march towards the entrance of the house. Soon it would be revealed if Technus' plan would work or not. The child and the shorter of the two female humans seemed to be carrying some sort of satchel upon their backs. While the blue clad female carried nothing but a dozen keys of metal all connected to one ring. The child and the shorter female seemed to be energetically discussing something. When they reached the door the blue clad female shuffled through her keys till she found one. At this time they were within Technus' hearing range.

"But Danny! You should go to the dance this Saturday. Come on you need a break." The shorter one of the females eyed the child worriedly.

"Jazz… I can't go to the dance! I have too many 'extra curricular activities' to do! Besides Sam said… Sam and Tucker said they don't want to go." The child shifted from foot as he waited for the blue clad female to open the door, but she chose this moment to speak up.

"Danny I agree with Jazz. You have been working so hard! Every night you come home looking like you just ran a marathon and sometimes worse! Please, Danny, for me, this would make me very happy." The blue clad paused with her hand on the door and shot the child some sort of look.

"Mom!… fine I'll try, no promises." The child murmured back to what Technus assumed was his mother.

"Thank you Danny… Alright, in, both of you." The mother moved to the side to allow the child and Jazz entry to the house. As Jazz passed the mother, they both exchanged smiles of victory. Technus throughout the exchange had kept his eyes on the child and there was no sign of his radar going off yet. As the three of them passed the door way the child froze. He wrapped his arms about himself and seemed to shiver, but nothing came out of his mouth. The child scanned his surrounding with suspicious eyes. His mother noticed and asked.

"Danny is there something wrong?" At this point Jazz had noticed what Danny was doing. She followed his example and began to scan the area. Slowly Danny replied.

"No… I don't think so. Does the ectofliter need to be replaced mom?" The mother regarded the child and replied.

"No honey, not for another five or six weeks." The child nodded to his mother and looked to Jazz.

"Jazz can you come help me on some of my homework?" The child sent a meaningful look to Jazz. Jazz caught the meaning.

"Mom, Danny and I are going down stairs to work. Okay?"

"Alright sweetie, just don't touch anything down in the lab." With that the mother turned on her heel and made her way to the kitchen. Jazz and the child both made a beeline to the lab. Technus transferred himself to the camera in the lab.

The child took the satchel like object off his back and dumped it at the foot the stairs. Jazz did the same, except in a more gentle fashion, then turned to her brother.

"Danny, what happened up there?" The child kept his eyes fixed on the ghost portal and responded.

"I don't know Jazz. You know the feeling you get when you touch icy cold hands? That's what it felt like. Not the full blown chill that comes with my ghost sense but something else. I don't know what this means." Jazz's face took on a thoughtful look and they both looked at the ghost portal. After a few moments, Jazz spoke up.

"Do you think it was a ghost that came out, sensed you, then went back in?"

"No, once a ghost decides to come out their minds are made up, and I don't know any ghosts that change their minds." The child responded somberly. Jazz looked at the child and narrowed her eyes.

"Danny have you been hiding anything from me? I know you are going through puberty and a lot of things are awkward for you right now, but if it deals with your powers, you have to tell me!" The child's eyes widened to a size that Technus, until recently, believed no human could achieve. Then again, the child was a hybrid. The child fixed Jazz with his stunned stare and turned an interesting shade of red.

"J-Jazz!" Under the child's gaze Jazz reddened a little and looked away.

"I am your sister Danny. I'm only trying to look out for you." Jazz huffed. After a moment the child seemed to recollect himself.

"No Jazz, it's nothing like that. At least I don't think so." The child seemed very interested in his shoes at this point. Technus was puzzled, what was this 'puberty'? Why did it have the power to rattle the child so? Technus' train of thought was interrupted by Jazz.

"Okay Danny, it looks like all we can do is sit tight and keep our eyes pealed. Hopefully it's your powers changing and not a ghost. You better go check on Tucker and Sam."

"Right." The child assumed some sort of action pose and shifted to ghost form. Without a word to his sister he flew off. Technus watched Jazz as she fixed the ghost portal with a worried gaze. Then with a tired sigh she picked up her satchel like object and left the lab.

Technus was ecstatic. His plan so far was a stunning success. The child had not been able to find him! What he needed to do now was to add sensors to all the existing cameras. That way he would also be able to get readouts on the child as well. It was only a matter of time now… and time was on his side.

--

I was told that tend to use the same words too often and it made the story a difficult read. So I went back and reread the first chapter with this in mind… and found it to be completely true. I hope this chapter turns out better. Thank you for the advice Invader Johnny.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Danny Phantom.

Technus decided that this 'school' that the young human Jazz and the child were forced to go to was a blessing. This 'school' ensured that the child was absent from the dwelling for seven hours and forty seven minutes. During this time Technus could go about and install the devices he needed without being detected. True the two parental units were usually within the building, but he had nothing to fear. After observing the parental units he had come to learn that they considered themselves ghost hunters. Technus found this laughable. They shared living quarters with a hybrid and were none the wiser. What's the probability of the parental units finding him?

It had been two days since his merge with the network and he was at last ready to commence with the next phase of his plan. Now he would be able to obtain accurate data on the child. Everything from his energy readings to the child's carbon footprint. But there had been one setback. There was one security feature that he had not been able to overcome. Technus could not access the internet from within the network. The only way to access the web, without setting the whole network on red alert, was to physically activate the internet from one of the computers. While the humans were oblivious to some extent they weren't oblivious enough to not notice a ghost sitting in front of their computers.

He had been able to discover the meaning of the word 'puberty'. Technus had used a dictionary embedded within one of the programs that Jazz used to write her essays. The word he discovered meant the period of time when a child makes the transition to an adult. During this time the human body undergoes physical and hormonal changes. Why this word had such an affect on the hybrid was still beyond his comprehension…

Technus was jarred from his track of thought were one of his sensors picked up that Jazz's alarm clock had gone off. He moved his consciousness the camera in her room and began to watch her. He watched as a slim frail hand emerged from the covers and tap the snooze button of the alarm. A small groan escaped the covers and the human sat up. Her hair was in complete disarray and there were bags beneath her eyes. Technus was not used to these constant changes in appearance that humans were capable of. Everyday something about the humans would change. These changes were so… effortless. In the ghost zone it took tremendous amounts of energy in order for change to happen. Here change happened every second. It was a very difficult concept to grasp.

Jazz slid a hand half way down her face and looked at the alarm clock between her fingers. Then she peeled back the covers and got out of bed. She paused and stretched her arms out. This movement proved that her yellow pajamas were slightly too small and needed to be replaced. She then made her way to the child's room. She opened the door and looked into his room.

"Danny? Wake up. It's time to get ready for school." The child groaned and pulled the covers tighter over himself. Jazz's eyes narrowed and she walked over to his bed.

"Danny, this is your last warning. Get up." A groan that sounded more like a drawn out squeak came from the covers. Jazz placed her hand at the top his blanket…

"Jazz… Please can you tell mom and dad that I'm not feeling well? I was up so late last night ghost hunting. Can I please stay home?" An amused and irritated look took hold of Jazz's face.

"Ha. Fat chance. If you don't recall I was out ghost hunting with you last night. Now get up." With that Jazz yanked the blankets off the child. The child's angered cry was quick to follow.

"Jazz! What was that for?" Jazz only smiled innocently and walked back to her room. Getting up the child began his preparations for the day. Though the occasional muttered word of evil and sister could be heard now and then.

Technus was puzzled over what his sensors had picked up during the encounter. Though the child's energy readings were normally more than twice that of a regular human's there were strange fluctuations. When Jazz had first awakened him the energy readings were lower that usual. Then when the covers were snatched away his levels had shot up to a point that would be expected during a fight. Interesting.

Technus sat back and watched the two siblings prepare for school. The child had to spend more time getting ready than his sister. He had to spend time looking through piles of clothing in order to find something appropriate to wear. As he spent more time searching the larger his energy signature became. Puzzled as to why this was occurring, Technus had the camera zoom in. The child's eyebrows were scrunched together and his mouth was set in a hard line. As he shifted though the last pile the child found the desired article of clothing and his energy readings returned to normal. Once clothed the child grabbed the satchel like object, which Technus had learned was called a 'backpack', and was out the door and down the stairs. Jazz was in the living room waiting for the child. She had prepared everything she had needed for school the night before. Upon the child's arrival she looked up from the book and asked.

"Ready to go Danny?"

"Yeah, but could you cover for me and tell mom and dad that I am going to be staying after school and 'studying' with Sam and Tucker?" Jazz paused with a strange look on her face.

"Errr, Sorry Danny I have to stay after school and help Erick study."

"Wait you don't mean the Erick from the karate club do you?" As the child said this his energy levels began to slowly rise.

"Yes that's him. He came up to me and asked me to help him study. He asked very nicely too…" Jazz was no longer looking at the child and had a small smile on her face. Right after she finished saying this the child's energy readings spiked dramatically.

"THAT ERICK! Jazz do you know what his reputation is like?! He has a new girl every month! That guy couldn't care less about his grades! Jazz I'm telling you stay away from that guy." The child fixed jazz with a very dark look.

"Now, Danny there is nothing bad about wanting to improve bad grades. Besides you don't know Erick personally. How can you say if he bad guy or not? An-" The child cut her off.

"Jazz I don't need to know him personally to see that he is that 'type'. Jazz stay away from him. He is not good for you." At this Jazz began to change into an interesting shade of red and replied.

"Danny I will not have you telling me who I can and can't see!" With that she turned on her heel and stormed out the door. The child stared after his sister with a gloomy look upon his face.

"I can't tell you what to do, but it doesn't mean I can't stand guard." With that the child transformed and blasted off in the direction of his school.

Technus was excited with the data that had been collected and saw a pattern forming. But there still was not enough data, the child and the humans around him were far too unpredictable. He would not lose because he made a move too soon.

I apologize for any spelling/grammar mistakes. If you see them please point them out. It would be most appreciated.

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I open to any suggestions/ideas/opinions on the story or characters. At this point I am debating on which ghosts to leave out and which to bring in. As for what I am planning to have Technus do… Is it far too obvious?


	4. Chapter 4

Technus spent the day observing the parental units. He was amazed at how humans could have such a high intelligence level, yet still not act like they had that much in between their ears. They could comprehend the subatomic interactions of human plane matter and ghost matter when placed together, but when it came to certain decisions… For instance should the ghost matter centrifuge be turned off before or after the snack of fudge is gotten? Or should the volatile ectoplasmic strobotron be left unattended while a emergency trip to get food for dinner is made? Out of all the humans Technus had observed so far the parental units were the oddest. Still Technus knew enough to be wary of them. He had seen the numerous devices in their lab that would make most ghosts rue the day they left the ghost zone. The problem was using the weapons properly in the right situation.

Still the parental units had a pattern that they followed. When they awoke they followed the same routine as they did the day before. While it was interesting to watch the parental units work in the lab and their mishaps were amusing, Technus was growing restless. He needed the child to return from school. He had to know how the situation with his sister was affecting him. The pattern was there he just needed to confirm it.

~-~

Technus heard the child and his followers before they even made it up the front steps of the building.

"I knew it! I knew it! You guys saw how he dropped his pencil so she would pick it up! The entire time he was staring at her but! He is no good!" The child's energy levels, to Technus' delight, was close to matching the time when he went up against the ghosts king. The follower dressed in dark clothing interrupted the child's rant.

"Danny it's not like I don't agree with you or anything… But how would we get Jazz to drop Erick? Tell her that we spied on their tutoring session and saw that he was not in it for the learning? Besides what if Jazz actually _likes_ him?"

"Oh no, There is no way that my sister would fall for a numb skull like him… Even if she does I bet Danny Phantom could convince him to leave town." Both of the followers exchanged worried looks as the child's eyes glowed green. The male follower spoke up.

"Danny! I don't like this guy either but the town is just starting to accept you as a 'nice' ghost. We can't risk that. Besides there should be other ways to do this."

"That's right." The dark female follower chimed in. "Normally I'm for peace but, that guy, when we were watching him had no decency. It would be a shame if embarrassing and shameful things were to start 'showing' up. And it would be horrible if Jazz saw any of it…" The child and the dark female exchanged smiles while the other male follower looked exasperated.

"Ya know, for good guys you can be pretty evil…" drawled the other male. The child's back straitened and his eye narrowed. From the child's posture, Technus gathered that he seemed to take offence to this remark. As expected his energy levels spiked. The child snapped back.

"We are not being evil. We are just taking the necessary steps in order to ensure Jazz's safety." The male follower sent a look that clearly said 'who are you trying to fool?'

"Riiiight… and I want to ensure the safety of the newest palm pilot model not cause I want it." The child threw a dark look at the male follower and then groundout.

"Fine whatever, Tucker you comb the internet and see what you can find on Erick. Sam, you and I are going to pay Erick's house a little visit." The dark female follower, Sam as Technus gathered, simply crossed her arms and sent the child an amused look.

"Do you even know where Erick lives?" The child made as if to reply but then turned away and became an interesting shade of red.

"Alright then, Sam and I will make a quick stop at the school's office. Then we will go to Erick's house." The child scooped Sam into his arms and shifted into his ghost form. With that they parted ways. Tucker headed down the street and the child and Sam both flew off in the direction of the school.

Technus withdrew his consciousness from the front door security camera. The data that he had collected proved to him that the child's energy patterns and emotions were closely connected. If the child had something suddenly taken away from him or when something that was dear to him was endangered he produced huge amounts of energy. So all Technus had to do was to fulfill those two requirements…


	5. Chapter 5

After days of formulating a plan Technus was ready. He had left an anonymous tip to the parental units that if they staked out the Amity Museum of Natural Sciences tonight the ghost child would appear. The museum was also conveniently located on the other side of town. As for the child, Technus had called in a few favors from the Ghost Zone. Tonight A few ghosts from the Ghost Zone would appear and keep the child away from his dwelling and occupied. None of the ghost that he had called in were particularly powerful, but they would serve their purpose. Technus would then be free to make an unmolested kidnapping.

Technus had spent quite a bit of time on deciding exactly which human would be his target. Technus rejected the idea of abducting either of the parental units. If he did kidnap one of them it would promise an extreme reaction from the child… but there were too many unpleasant factors with this course of action. Firstly out of all the members in the household the most dangerous, not including the child, was the female parental unit. She always had some sort of weapon on her person. (how many she actually had on her at one time Technus still needed to determine) Even without her weapons she was a master of a fighting form humans called karate. She could also quickly adapt to any situation and use what was readily available to the best of her ability. It would probably be only a matter of time before she became _his_ captor. The male parental unit, though much less dangerous, was just as well armed. Most of his efforts did seem to backfire… but Technus had observed times when those mishaps had turned out to be more effective than if it had gone according to plan. While the male parental unit was doable he still would require more effort than what Technus was willing to expend.

Technus had also considered the child's followers. They both had a decent amount of fighting ability and both carried a few weapons. Technus had determined that with a bit of planning it would be easy enough to incapacitate and capture either of them. The one thing that held him back from this course of action was that he did not know what their exact relationship to the child was. He knew that the child would be angered if one of his followers disappeared or at the very least irritated. But he worried that abduction of either of the two followers would not cause enough emotional distress. If so then all of his efforts would be for nothing.

A faint smile appeared on Technus' lips as he thought of the child's sister Jasmine. She would fit his needs perfectly. She never carried any sort of weapon, in fact she seemed to avoid them. As for physical power, she was severely lacking in that department. When it came to intelligence she did have more than her brother but came nowhere near her mother's level. Kidnapping and watching her should take minimal effort. In addition the child cared _deeply_ for her. Her disappearance would send the child's energy levels soaring, and in turn, that energy in the long run should be the child's downfall. Then by simply threatening to harm her… should keep his energy levels at their critical levels. Yes… she would do quite nicely.

~-~

Technus kept his attention firmly fixed on the clock, he would start at ten thirty and not a moment before. He had arranged it so that his plan would take place on a Friday night. He had come to realize that humans usually made their own plans for the weekend and rarely questioned each other about them. If he carried this out correctly Jasmine would not be missed for two, three if he was lucky, days. In a few moments the ghosts he had summoned from the Ghost Zone would engage the child and lead him towards the museum. There he would meet his parents. That way the parental units and the child would be out of his hair for the night. Technus' eyes narrowed as the clock changed to read ten twenty-six the child should have encountered his parents by now. In the next minute one of the other ghosts should be coming to confirm it… a faint glow diverted Technus' attention from the clock. He watched as the young Orphan spirit finished phasing through the Fenton's lab wall. Technus smirked, the hybrid child must be having quite a bit of difficulty with the Orphan spirits if this one managed to return so quickly. Orphan spirits had nothing in the way of strength but had speed and agility in spades… Orphan spirits were not common in the Ghost Zone… it simply was that they had difficulty maintaining an existence. They were the spirits of children who had died before their time. Orphan spirits were often hunted by the older spirits for sport. For this reason they lived together in groups and hid. Technus and the Orphan Spirits had a deal of sorts worked out. He provided them with technology. In exchange they provided him with information on other ghosts in the Ghost Zone… Young Blood was once one of them… but that was long ago. Young Blood now flew with the elder ghosts and hunted the very ones that he once called friend. The child looked quite shaken and seemed to have been hit by a few ectoblasts. The Orphan spirit after quickly scanning it's surroundings flew to Technus' side.

"Mister Technus we did like you tolded us to do. We bought the Phantom boy to the museum place you showed us and now the two scary humans are chasing him. We did it… Can we have that holo proto thingy now?" How the orphan spirit managed to say this without stammering was beyond Technus. The orphan spirit was visibly trembling and his eyes darted about. Apparently the orphan spirit did not take well to the human world. Technus smirked and reached into a pocket and withdrew a small cube.

"It is a Holographic Flasher little one… do you remember the explanation and demonstration I gave on it?" The young one blinked and stared for a moment.

"Well… ya. You click the button on it when mean ghosts come and throw it. Then you run the other way." Technus gave a small smile.

"Young one, did I not tell you that the Flasher had more than one application? Not only can it produce complex three dimensional illusions, but due to the chromium plating, the device can also store up to thirty mega joules of light. So should you and your companions find yourselves in a situation where you must make an unexpected sudden escape the Flasher should aid you greatly. As an added bonus if the button is held down for four seconds and then thrown a circuit with human components embedded within it will be activated. This in turn will create a destructive surplus of power within the device. At this point you would find it in your best interests to place as much distance between yourselves and the device as quickly as possible. Also there is the possibility-"

"Uh, Mister Technus sir? What does 'application' mean?" Technus placed his hand upon his face and sighed. Why did he even bother trying explaining his creations? Even the other older ghosts in the Ghost Zone who came to him for his talents rarely cared for or understood the explanation. Often it was 'Just FIX the damn guitar geek! I don't care how you do it! Just do it!' or 'If you don't stop studying the human device and start removing it I will have your hide! The blasted thing has already overloaded several of my circuits!'. But at least this child was at least motivated enough to honestly ask a question.

"Application, it is another word for use, function, or purpose… You didn't understand a word I said did you?" The young child had his head cocked to the side and his eyes narrowed in concentration.

"I did understand the words you said mister… just not all of them…" With a final sigh Technus tossed the Flasher to the Orphan spirit and said.

"Never mind child… I do not have the time to explain it in simpler terms. Besides you understand the general idea. Throw it and run the other way. You and your kin have done what has been asked of you. You have your payment. Now go." Technus turned his attention back to the clock and saw that he only matter of seconds before his phase of the plan began.

"Mister Technus?" Technus looked over his shoulder and saw the Orphan spirit along with several other of his kin floating beside the Ghost Zone Portal. He guessed that while he had been trying to explain the Flasher the other spirits must have floated in.

"What is it? Your part here is done, you owe me nothing. You have earned the Flasher justly." The Orphan spirits looked at one another then as if reaching a group decision three of them pushed the spirit holding the Flasher forward.

"Mister Technus… We want to thank you. Your not like the other meanie ghosts." Technus' brows furrowed in confusion for a moment then he puffed his chest out a little and responded.

"Young one, of course I differ from the other ghosts. My intelligence by far exceeds theirs" One of the female Orphan spirits covered her mouth. The other Orphan spirits shared a knowing smile then plunged into the Ghost Zone. Technus floated over to the computer and smiled. The first part of the plan had succeeded.

~-~

I don't own Danny Phantom


	6. Chapter 6

Technus bent over a keyboard and gazed at the computer screen. Then tapping one final button he the turned to the printer and watched it spit out a sheet of paper. Snatching up the paper Technus flew to the room that the humans called the 'kitchen' and made his way to the refrigeration unit. Then by using one of the many magnets on the refrigeration unit he attached the paper to it. With one final check he made his way to Jazz's room.

Phasing through the floor Technus locked on the bed and made his way towards his target. The human female, known as Jazz, lay on her bed in a manner that Technus was fairly certain was odd for humans. The multiple covers were half kicked off, and one of her legs was under the covers and the other on top. She was laying on her side hugging yet sleeping on her pillow. Her hair was a complete mess, it was going in every possible direction. Gently Technus reached out and touched one of her blankets and turned it intangible. Then while the blanket was intangible he wrapped it about Jazz like a cocoon. He hoped that the familiar material would help her stay asleep. Then with the blanket wrapped around her he turned her intangible as well and picked her up bridal style. He then proceeded to fly out of the house with Jazz in his arms. He had made it across the street and was approximately forty-two yards into the air when a groan from Jazz made Technus look down at her.

Jazz frowned and tried to snuggle deeper into her blanket. Why was it so cold? Did she forget to close the window again? Uh… She should get up and close it. But she was so tired, closing the window could wait till morning… Where was her pillow? She flung out a hand in search of her pillow. Instead her hand connected to something smooth and almost warm. Confused she moved her hand about this foreign surface. Whatever it was it was oddly shaped. Only when her hand touched a pair of cold glasses did warning bells start going off in her head. She snapped her hand away and her eyes flew open. Every muscle in her body tensed and froze as she beheld what she saw. There, gazing down at her, was Technus, master of technology. His white hair was pulled into a long ponytail and as always his skin was that interesting shade of green that most ghosts seemed to share. What snapped her out of her shock was the eerie way the moonlight was glinting off his shades. She then realized she was in his arms!

"Lemme GO! You better let me go! There is no way Danny is going to let you do this!" She shrieked. At her words she was startled to see a cold smile stretch across his face.

"Let you go? Are you sure you want me to do that?" Without hesitating she snarled back.

"Of course you techno dork! Let me GO!" A chuckle escaped Technus' throat.

"As you wish…" With that Technus snapped his arms open and Jazz fell. Jazz's eyes were extended to their widest and terror took control of her body. She could feel her arms and legs flailing about uncontrollably. She felt her gut wrench horribly upwards. She watched as the ground came speeding up to meet her. All coherent thought had been pushed out of her head by a all consuming terror. She felt a silent shriek tear out of her throat. And as quickly as it had begun, it ended. She found herself with her arms flung about Technus' neck and her face pressed into his chest. She was in Technus' arms again. He was floating them both back up to the height they were at before. She felt his laugh vibrate in his chest.

"So human, did you have fun? But this time, I think I should honor your request and let you fall all the way. This would actually help me with my research. 'How well a human body handles impact at high velocities' is what I think I'll name the report." Jazz then felt his arms begin to loosen. Instantly her arms tightened into a death grip around his neck.

"No!" she yelped and then she continued in a whisper.

"No don't let me go… please." Any trace of humor disappeared from Technus' voice and left behind was a cold business like tone.

"Very well, I will not drop you again, on two conditions. One, do not fidget or squirm. Two, no screaming of any sort. Agreed?" A nod from Jazz seemed to satisfy Technus and resumed his flight away from her home.

Alright, Jazz, you are currently in the arms of Technus and in nothing but your blue Pokka dot PJs. Okay what did she know about this guy? He was one of her brother's enemies. Technus considered himself master of all technology. To top it all off there was no way that she could overwhelm him, after all Danny still had to take him semi-seriously. Since she was still alive, she assumed that he wanted her alive. So she guessed that she was in no immediate danger… for the moment. Argh! Why didn't she take after her mom and sleep with at least one ectogun under her pillow? Well there wasn't anything she could do now except to try and figure out Technus' plan and sabotage it. Besides it would only be a matter of time before Danny found her and set everything right. She made her grip on his neck tighter as she remembered the look on Technus' face as he dropped her. He wore a cold smug smile on his face with not a hint of remorse as he had watched her fall. She did not trust his word any farther that she could throw him.

Crushing the resistance and attitude out of Jasmine by scaring her half to death was more enjoyable than the time he had crashed Walker's security systems. The Warden had spent days terrorizing other ghosts in the Ghost Zone in order to find the culprit. Technus, mean while, sat back and watched the Warden's rampage from the safety of his lab. The only time he had not enjoyed was when she had touched his glasses. These glasses had taken him _years_ to develop and create. His glasses acted like a monitor for his internal systems. Data readouts, documents, and other forms information could be accessed and displayed on the inner side of his glasses. While he could view the data without the glasses… having the glasses simply helped him organize and process data faster. Like a human doing math in their head verses a human doing math with a pencil and paper. Needless to say he was very fond of his glasses. He decided to slow his flight a little when he felt the human's death grip on his neck constrict a little more. Not at all pleased with the force being applied to his neck he looked down with the full intent to reprimand the human for her grip. The reprimand died on the tip of his tongue as he looked at the human. Her eyes were scrunched closed and trace amounts of moisture was collecting at the corners of her eyes. From his records on humans he knew that this type of moisture was called 'tears', and humans used tears as a coping mechanism for when they had to deal with excessive amounts of stress or physical pain… and when humans were under constant stress their bodies weakened and were susceptible to disease…. Perhaps dropping her hadn't the best course of action.

Technus diverted his gaze back to the horizon. It didn't matter if the human was happy or not. All he needed was to make sure that she was relatively good condition. For if she sickened and died the child would most likely hunt him down and exterminate him instead of capturing him in the thermos. Technus was beginning to fear that this human might be too delicate in order to survive for as long as he needed her to. Or he was just being 'paranoid' (as the humans put it) and was underestimating the strength of the average female human teenager and actually had nothing to worry about… In any case, It was too late to dump this human and select another. All he needed to do now was to continue his flight to


	7. Chapter 7

This human… confused him. From what he had observed of the human Jazz he understood that she was quite outspoken. If she had a thought on something, no matter how minor the something or how minor the thought, she made sure the surrounding humans knew about it. …They were already three hours into the flight…So that should mean that she should be talking his ear off by now. Why was it that a little fear and shock was enough to radically change her mannerisms? How could humans change so easily and at the slightest things? For a ghost to even make a minor change their behavior it would require huge amounts of energy or extraordinary will power… No matter. The less she talked, the less energy he had to spend on keeping his tongue in check.

Calling up his internal records he went over the next phase of the plan. From his past excursions into the human realm he had managed to acquire maps of some of the surrounding cities. Two cities in particular were Shaldor City and Torington City. From what he gathered both were primarily industrial cities. Due to that industrial aspect the humans expanded their cities rapidly by building 'cookie cuter buildings'. Buildings that looked just like the ones around it… and it went on for miles. It was there that Technus would take the human saying 'looking for a needle in a haystack' to a whole new level…

The terror from the nearly going splat was slowly wearing off. Jazz was gradually regaining control of her muscles and was able to slightly slacken her death grip on Technus' neck. Speaking of Technus, he had not spoken a word to her since they had struck a deal. Jazz pulled her face away from Technus' chest and looked up to his face. If he had felt her stir he made no sign of it. His face was impassive and thanks to his shades she couldn't even tell where his gaze was.

Where on Earth was this jerk taking her? Jazz turned her head away from him to look ahead. They were flying at a phenomenal speed. The wind that was whipping by instantly dried her eyes and forced her to narrow them. It was no use, she could not make out anything in her hazy vision… Jazz turned her head back and sighed. What was this techno dork trying to do?

Danny dragged his beaten form into the kitchen and staggered to the table. There he slumped into a chair and cradled his head. Tonight was probably the worst run in with parents up to date. It had started normally enough…

His patrol with Sam and Tucker had ended and they had just parted ways. Danny had been flying home while engrossed with thoughts on how to get back on Jazz's good side. She had discovered that he had been the one 'haunting' Erick. It was too late though, Erick had decided that Jazz was too dangerous a target and told Jazz that he would find another tutor. Jazz then stormed out of the room and had found Danny howling with laughter. Jazz put two and two together and gave Danny one of the harshest tongue lashings he had ever received from her. He had never seen her this mad. What confused him was why couldn't she see that Erick was bad news? He would be a liar if he said he did not have fun 'haunting' Erick, but why didn't Jazz see that he was doing this primarily for her sake? His musing were interrupted by wailing sirens in the distance. Danny changed the course of his flight in order to investigate.

Danny came upon an interesting scene. He saw policemen circled around a toy store trying unsuccessfully to subdue a group of ghost children. They all looked to be between the ages of ten and six. What threw Danny the most was that they weren't acting like normal ghosts. The ghost children were not robbing the store or even terrorizing the surrounding humans… They were playing peacefully with the toys. Two of them floated by the model train display and were pushing and pulling the trains down their toy tracks. Three more were by the plastic dolls of dinosaurs and animals. From Danny could see they were playing 'zoo'. In truth the only thing really disturbing the peace of the neighborhood was the policemen's sirens.

When ever an officer tried to go near one of the ghost children they would simply pick up their toys and float up to the ceiling. There they would continue playing. Thoroughly confused by this unmalevolent behavior Danny floated into the store. Before Danny could say anything one of the girl ghosts by the figurines noticed him and pointed him out to the others.

"Looky! Look! There he is! He came! See Devin? Mister T is always right." All of the ghost children stopped playing and focused their attention on him. Shaking off the shock from the odd sight he shifted into the no nonsense pose he had seen Mr. Lancer do on more than one occasion. Whether they were causing trouble or not, children or not, they were ghosts and they had no place in this world as far as Danny was concerned. Danny mustered his most 'commanding' voice.

"Alright kids! Play time is over. And since you seem to know who I am, you know that I have to take you back to the Ghost Zone. So just be good little ghosts and go into this thermos without a fuss." He held aloft the thermos and looked at them expectantly. A few of the children giggled, while others had the 'is this clown for real?' look plastered onto their faces. A ghost boy with scruffy grey hair and grey eyes floated forward.

"…You want us to go into that? No way!… Tell you what. Lets play a game of tag. You be it and you have to tag us. When You tag us we will go back to the portal and into the Ghost Zone. But no powers except for flying. Kay?" At the kid's proposal the other children giggled and seemed to 'bounce' in place from anticipation of a possible game. Danny tilted his head back and groaned. It was Friday for peat's sake! Couldn't he get just one weekend off? Just once?… At least they were offering him a method that at least wasn't a full blown fight… and if he caught them fast enough he might be able to play some Zombie Massacre 3 before going to bed... and they looked like nice kids… and they weren't attacking anybody. Looking back to the scruffy haired kid Danny sighed.

"Fine. But if I tag you and you don't go back to the Ghost Zone I am going to hunt you down!" The children all had a grin stretched across their faces and they all shot off towards the south side of town. Danny blinked for a moment and then smiled a small smile.

"Quick little guys… guess I got my work cut out for me." With that he shot off after the children.

It had been one heck of a night but at last he was down to the scruffy ghost boy. Unfortunately for him this kid was the fastest of the bunch. Danny knew that there was no way that he could catch the kid normally. He would have to distract the boy… if he ever managed to catch up to the kid. This kid was different from the others. The other ghost kids had acted… well like kids. The other little guys had been fast but they had stayed just out of his reach sending him the juvenile taunts of 'Over here slowpoke!' or 'Sometime this century Halfa!' usually followed by a few giggles. This one seemed a bit older then the others, like a leader of sorts. And if he didn't know better it almost seemed like the scruffy ghost boy wanted to lead him somewhere. They were both currently soaring down Main Street. Then the scruffy kid suddenly swerved left and soared towards the Amity Museum of Natural Sciences. Danny smirked, if that kid thought he could lose him in the museum he had another thing coming. He had lost count of all the times that he had taken field trips there. This museum was considered one of the most 'progressive' museums on the entire east coast. Since it had opened it had made a deal school board; so that for a fraction of the cost the school would have each grade make a field trip to the museum every year. This was in hopes of children gaining interests in the natural sciences. The plan had backfired quite badly though. Because after the school did make all these field trips to the museum, the children of the city had grown quite bored with it and had no interest of returning with their parents and paying the full admittance fee. So besides the mandatory school trips the museum received little to no other visitors. Danny had asked Mr. Lancer why the museum didn't put up new exhibits, he smiled and explained that this was an example of the saying 'The road to Hell is paved with good intentions'. He explained that while all the mandatory field trips was enough to keep the museum open but not improve it; the museum would have actually faired better as a normal museum without the mandatory field trips. He also said that despite his best efforts in making the school board see that the deal of fixed field trip prices would not help the growing cost of keeping the museum open, they refused to release the museum from the deal. At this rate the museum was doomed to fail. He then asked Danny, with a very odd smile painted on his face, if he knew if Phantom could do anything to help. Danny replied that he didn't, and from then on he treaded very carefully around Mr. Lancer. Anyway he knew the layout of the museum like the back of his hand.

As soon as the two of them had cleared the museum's threshold to the lobby ecto blasts began to rain down on the two of them. Danny's reflexes kicked in quick enough to turn him intangible but a high pitched yelp told him the kid had not been so lucky. Danny dove for cover behind the receptions counter and peeked over to see who was shooting at him. When he saw his parents at the other end of those ectoguns he muttered in a growl/whine,

"Just my luck! First I spend all Friday night chasing ghost kids all over town. Now my parents are attacking me! Oh but it gets better… Now I gotta save a ghost kid from my parents and somehow stay in one piece… Maybe Sam was on to something when she asked me if I needed someone to rant to… wonder how shocked she would be if I took her up on her offer. Ah well… time to get to work", with that he launched himself over the counter towards the crumpled figure of the ghost kid. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Dad firing a bunch of wild shots at him. Danny smirked, he could always count on Dad to get all excited and opt for quantity over quality. But still, if he wasn't careful one of Dad's shots _would_ hit him. As he descended upon the kid and scooped him up ectoblasts stopped raining down around him and was replaced by the clicking sound that energy depleted ectoguns made. With the kid safely in his arms he started to soar back to behind the counters. He had nearly made it when he heard the sound of a lone ectoblast being fired closely followed by a sharp and searing pain in his side. His pain caused him to lose his concentration and he dropped to the ground in front of the counter. His eyes began to water and the muscles of his chest began to spasm from pain, forcing his arms to curl around his side. His mother's gleeful shout cut through his pained daze.

"Ha! Take that ghost boy! See Jack? I told you that my new photon energized ecto sniper rifle would do the trick! You should ditch that old tech and try this one honey!" Jack groaned and made his rebuttal.

"But Maddie! Your rifle can only hold five shots. While the Ectoblaster 65 can fire up to thirty… and it has an air tight and perfectly insulated compartment for holding fudge!"

"But Jack dear you have to admit…". Good they were well on their way to what he had dubbed the 'Bicker Mode'. If he played his cards right this might not take all night. Painfully he crouched up and shook the kid's shoulder and whispered.

"Hey kid. Wake up. Look I'll distract them while you… Come on kid you have got to pull it together!" The kid looked up at him with a malicious gleam in his eye and laughed quietly.

"Wow! You're a big dummy butt! Have fun with the two crazy humans!" The kid promptly pulled down one lower eye lid and stuck out his tongue at Danny. Before Danny make his retort the kid phased through the floor and was gone. Danny's snarl didn't quite make it past his clenched teeth. At least he now remembered why he did not like kids. Carefully looking up from his position on the floor he saw his parent's 'Bicker Mode' winding down. If he could only get behind a counter… Crap! Something about his mom's new gun had the unexpected effect of scrambling his powers. The best he could manage right now was a hover and phasing was completely out of the question. So Danny dragged/hovered himself behind a counter. Once behind the counter he clenched his teeth and tried to focus his ghostly energies on the gunshot wound so it would heal. A groan made it past his teeth, healing the wound hurt almost as much as getting it! Note to self, Danny thought grimly, destroy mom's gun when she's out shopping tomorrow. His side now only had a splotch of ectoplasm where a few moments ago there was a gunshot wound and he could feel his powers slowly trickling back… Alright new plan! Avoid Mom and Dad's attempts to maim/dissect/kill him and try to buy himself time. Then run like mad! Yup tonight was shaping itself out to be like every other weeknight…

Slumped at the kitchen table Danny tried to ignore his aching mess of a human body. It had taken hours before he managed to loose his parents. Good news was that he was able to dodge his mother's four remaining sniper shots, but the bad news was that in order to doge the last shot he blundered into a volley of his Dad's blasts. Nowhere even close to agony of the sniper rifle but it still smarted quite nicely. Danny looked and tried to look at the digital clock beside the fridge… He couldn't make it out. Sighing with frustration Danny got up and shuffled towards the clock. Upon closer inspection the clock revealed it to be the ungodly hour of 3:47. Well tomorrow was Saturday… If he was lucky his parents would pity him and let him sleep in. A piece of paper on the fridge caught his attention. Removing it from the fridge he tried to read it. Danny read the paper. Squinting his eyes and adjusting the distance of the paper did not help him. Eh… He was tired and it was dark, he'll read it tomorrow. With that he put the paper back on the fridge and painfully dragged himself to bed. He was asleep before he even hit the covers.


	8. Chapter 8

Jazz was miserable and cursing, for what seemed to be the thousandth time since last night, her families close connections with the supernatural. Currently she was crouched on top of a very tall wooden crate which was stacked on top of two other similar crates in a dark abandoned warehouse. By knocking her fist upon the crate the sound told her it was empty. Probably the reason why it was left here. The warehouse was fairly large and there were other crates scattered about, but nearest crate, besides her own, was over a good fifteen meters off. So jumping to other crates was out of the question. As for jumping off her crate and onto the floor… Well… If she fancied herself a broken limb or two she, was free to try and make the twenty-five foot, give or take some feet, drop to the floor. But that was not the worst of the situation.

Jazz Fenton was a patient girl who could put up with a lot of things; Ghost obsessed parents, a teenage ghost hybrid brother, outrageous workloads, ghost attacks… and the list goes on and on. But nowhere on that list were there vermin or bugs! Lucky for her, this warehouse had plenty of both. Jazz had to keep her arms in an almost constant motion in order to fend off the cloud of bloodthirsty mosquitoes. She already had a good collection of swollen and itchy lumps. To make matters worse in the shadows of the warehouse she could see rats. But these rats weren't normal rats. Oh no, these were _huge_ rats. Rats that could eat a pug for breakfast and still be hungry. So even if she could make it to the floor without breaking anything she would have to deal with those rats. If she didn't hate Technus before, she definitely did now. But she could see why he had stashed her here. By putting her here he had effectively confined her and made her suffer. Two birds with one stone.

"Efficient." Jazz hissed to herself through clenched teeth as she tried to wave off more mosquitoes and massage her bug bites at the same time. Most of what Technus had done so far was matching up with what Danny had said about him. The odd thing was that he wasn't talking and what did kidnapping her achieve? Often she had heard Danny and his friends laugh about what a motor mouth he was and yet this morning when he had plopped her on this crate all he had said was 'Stay here human Jazz and do not attempt anything foolish. If you hurt yourself I will not aid you.' And promptly phased through wall leaving her by her lonesome. That was it.

As for her kidnapping, the only result would be a pissed off set of parents and Danny. It wasn't like he could use her to access high level technology from anywhere. And threatening her well being was only going to get him so far in a fight with Danny… While he had been efficient and logical in his treatment of her… kidnapping her seemed like a totally illogical action. And yet, from what she knew, Technus was a being of logic…

Jazz huffed with irritation. This didn't make any sense!… Well his tongue should loosen sooner or later. And even if it didn't, Danny was going to get her out of this. All she had to do is put up with this techno freak… that was if the mosquitoes didn't eat her alive first.

The rosey fingertips of dawn could be glimpsed in the east as Technus soared over rows of abandoned warehouses. From his meager amount of data on this city, he knew that this town had once been a thriving industrial and port town. Today it was a shadow of what it once was and most of the factories and warehouses were abandoned and left to rot. It suited his plans perfectly. He pushed himself to fly faster and find the buildings he was looking for. While he had gauged the human Jazz as a somewhat intelligent he was worried that she might be foolish enough to attempt to escape the warehouse he had left her at. If she did try all it would result in would be her own injury. He had specifically chosen a place that she had no chance of getting away from and her sense of self preservation, he hoped, would keep her there. Then again humans were irrational creatures and he wouldn't be surprised if he found the human girl lying in a broken and bloody mess on the warehouse floor. He had made a gamble that the girl was smart enough to stay put but he was still worried. Technus did not want the girl harmed so early in the plan yet.

He slowed to a gentle dissent as he found what he was looking for. It was a building that sold different odds and ends of electronics and other trinkets. While it had nothing of notable technological interest for his studies, he could get the things he needed for the next phase of the plan. Becoming invisible and phasing through the walls he made quick work of collecting what he needed and was soon soaring back to where he had left the human girl.

Technus phased through the roof of the decrepit warehouse and floated down to the crate that the girl sat upon. He was glad that she was still in one piece. As he got closer and looked more carefully at the human, he was amused with what he saw. The human's face and exposed skin of her limbs were covered in large red swollen lumps. When she wasn't swatting away insects she was desperately scratching the lumps bloody.

"Human! What did you do to your face? Why are you allowing these incest to feed on you? Honestly it is a wonder that you species is still alive." He chuckled as he floated down and deposited his burdens on the crate. The human Jazz continued her scratching and swatting while shooting a glare that spoke volumes of the hate she had for him at the moment.

"Well it's not you left a can of bug spray here! What was supposed to do genius? Ectoblast them away? What are you doing with all that stuff? This is pointless! Danny is going to find us and put you back into the Ghost Zone where you belong!" she snarled at him with venom dripping off her words.

"There is no hope of you comprehending my grand plans and genius mind! You see I have finally found the ghost child's weakness and I will exploit it till he expires and I will do so by u-" he was cut off when a program of his sent a warning jolt through his system. He then bit his tongue and was glad that he implemented the new program in his system. It notified him whenever he was about to monologue. He was not going to repeat the mistakes that had cost him victory time and time again. Not this time nor ever again. He ignored the girl and went about setting up his equipment.

"Till he expires? You? Make Danny expire? Fat chance! Just how are you gonna do that if Danny beats you every single time?" As much as he wanted to turn around and tell this annoying girl how and why she was wrong, he ignored her. He focused on setting up the camera and then picked up the extension cables he had brought. Turning to her with cables in hand, he looked down his nose at her with cruel smile and said.

"Now that is for me to know and for you find out my dear…" The girl paled and began to struggle as Technus bound and gagged her with the extension cables.


	9. Chapter 9

Technus turned off the camera and stored the video file into his systems. He turned to the human girl with the intent to untie her and was almost taken aback by the livid eyes that glared at him. Perhaps, if he waited to untie her… she would calm down… eventually. He instead scoped up the equipment and phased it into the empty container below them. He didn't need it anymore. The props had served their purpose for the film shoot. Oh how he wished to see the child's face when his magnificent plan truly began! The girl again started to struggle at the bonds and then gave up. He could hear the muffled furious screams sent his direction through the cable gag. It might take longer for her to cool off than he had initially estimated.

He pointedly ignored the girl's existence and focused on carefully moving and phasing the wired metal barrels into the crate below. It would be disastrous to mishandle one of them now. To his surprise the girl's muffled shrieks of rage became louder when she noticed that she was being ignored. He had thought that she had already reached her maximum volume. He sighed internally and wondered at how and why some beings allowed themselves to be ruled by emotions rather than logic. Obviously, screaming at him through a gag was futile and pointless. He would not understand her and it would not get her out of her bonds any faster. It was simply a monumental waste of energy on her part. It took some time getting all barrels carefully stored. He was simply amazed with what the humans had just left scattered about this area. Yes, by themselves the materials he had gathered where harmless but when utilized by a genius like him... a chuckle escaped him as he pitied the humans for their general thoughtless nature.

With the last of the barrels carefully stowed and hidden in the huge crate. He turned to observe the girl once again. She was flushed red, sweating and panting heavily against her bonds. It seemed she no longer had the energy to continue screaming her fury at him through the gag. Her hair was an utter mess. Some parts stuck unattractively to her head and face as they were tangled and soaked though with sweat. Other parts of her hair were wind blown and sticking in various directions. He curiously eyed the swollen lumps that dotted her flesh and the dark bags of skin that hung beneath her eyes. The dark skin he could explain easily. She had not been able to sleep at all the night before. He took responsibility for that. It was the lumps that he worried over. He knew that there were bugs in the area but they dared not approach him. His power naturally kept them at bay. General wildlife was sensitive when it came to the paranormal and took pains to avoid it. He had forgotten that the human would be at the mercy of the pests when he left to gather his supplies. He felt a tiny twinge of guilt as he took in her appearance. His data was not complete on human biology but he was fairly certain that the lumps were not life threatening… just painfully uncomfortable. His theory seemed to be reinforced by how the girl still tried to scratch at the lumps even when bound. He figured it was safe to take the bonds off now. She looked too exhausted and miserable to scream or fuss anymore. He extended a green hand towards her bonds and she looked at him with a tired glare. Carefully griping one of the cables on her face he then turned it and all the attached cables intangible and removed them from her person.

Technus was thoroughly surprised when she surged to her feet, gripped the collar to his cape and proceeded to scream directly into his face.

"What kind of deranged games are you trying to play!? This isn't going to get you anything! Nobody is going to give in to your demands and Danny WILL find us and he WILL beat you! He is going to send you packing back into the Ghost Zone where twisted and sick ghosts like you belong! You are not going to win and this this… what ever it is psycho crackpot scheme you're hatching is going to fail! Mark my words this is going to end badly and you are going to regret this! You should take me home right now and BEG for forgiveness!" The human female panted and he could feel her scorching hot breath on his cool face. Technus didn't move a muscle and calmly gazed at her and asked.

"Are you finished?" The female's hands loosened from his collar and fell to her sides. He watched her ice blue eyes showcase her emotions as anger warred with worry and fear. Technus drew himself to his full height and took a step forward so that it was now she that was leaning back and he towering over her with his face close to her own.

"Now listen to me, human, as amusing as I find your show of emotions, this is no mere game. You cause me any trouble and I will finish what I threatened outside your window the night before. I don't need you alive anymore. You have served your purpose. While it would be easier to work with a living body, your corpse will work just as well. Now I am a reasonable ghost and I won't kill you if you work with me. If you don't… well…" To illustrate his point, he brought his hand to gently grip the front of her pajama and pushed. She screamed and her hands clung to the arm that held her shirt. He had her pushed over the edge of the crate with her toes desperately griping the edge of the crate. Tears freely fell from her eyes as she sobbed.

"Alright! Alright! I-I won't cause any trouble! I-I w-will-" Technus pulled her in from the edge and gently scooped her up into his arms. She sobbed with terror as he lifted off the ground and began to fly up. Technus didn't find pleasure in torturing the girl to the point of tears but this was a necessary. He would not get another chance and he wouldn't risk all his planning just because he couldn't control one willful girl. As unpleasant as this was… this was a must. He was not going to lose, not this time.

Danny groggily stretched and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He sent a lazy grin to his bedside clock as it dutifully informed him that it was well past noon. How Danny loved his Saturdays! The one time in the week when he was allowed to sleep in and play his video games. Sure ghost patrol still happened later in the evening but even ghosts of the Ghost Zone seemed to respect the holiness that was Saturday morning.

Climbing out of bed proved to be an incredibly painful ordeal. He gingerly peeled off his shirt to examine his ribs. Danny frowned at the large splotch of irritated skin. It was swollen and a myriad of sickly yellows, greens and dark blues. Danny darkly swore revenge on his mother's new sniper rifle.

The rest of him was also a collection of minor bruises and scrapes. Altogether it made his body seem like one huge throbbing ache. Danny half wished he could slip into ghost mode. His ghostly side always healed from injuries in a matter of hours where his human side took weeks to fully recover from his injuries and thanks to his job as Danny Phantom he collected more hurts faster than his human body could heal them. Though thanks to this both Sam and Jazz where quickly improving their first aid skills. Even though he always was quick to insist that he didn't need the bandages he secretly loved receiving the gentle female attention. Especially when it was Sam's turn to patch him up. Danny blushed and grinned at a memory of Sam binding his chest. Being Danny Phantom definitely had its perks.

He changed his clothes and gingerly made his way downstairs toward the kitchen. His belly was making loud protests and demanded attention. Something Danny was all too happy to comply with. He hobbled about the kitchen till he found his favorite cereal, Rainbow Flakes. He found the note on the fridge once more as he looked for milk. Taking it off the fridge he tried to scan the note but found the letters bury. Bringing the note closer to his face helped and he inwardly groaned. Fantastic! He was going to need glasses soon. Oh Dash was going to have such a field day with this. Danny could already hear the shouts of "Hey Fen-Nerd!". Pushing aside thoughts of future torment to come, Danny read the note.

To Whom It May Concern:

I, Jasmine Fenton, will be spending the following days of Saturday and Sunday at my acquaintance's abode, for what is called a sleepover. I will return to the Fenton residence on Monday evening.

Best regards,

Jasmine Fenton

Danny blinked. Then blinked again. He knew that Jazz prided herself for being smart… but this was way too formal! Then for her to go sleep over a friend's house… the fiasco with Erick must have pissed her off more than he had thought. Damn he screwed up big this time. Even though he was never ever in a million years apologize for scaring off that Erick creep… it wouldn't hurt to try and bribe his way back onto her good side. He had been saving his allowance for the new Apoctaclipta 2 game that was coming out next month… but buying Jazz a gift now was better for his long term health. After wolfing down several bowls of Rainbow Flakes and dumping the resulting dishes in the sink, Danny shifted into ghost mode. Sighing with relief as the aches disappeared and vision sharpened. He flew from the house his destination being the mall. Maybe he should ask Sam to come with him… She could help pick a gift for Jazz. With a grin he changed course for Sam's house.

Author's Note: Yes I am back! This thing called college happened and ended. I kept the outline for this story with the intent to finish it. What I need is a volunteer to be my beta-reader. If you liked it, loved it or hated it… leave a review. Reviews are what inspire the creative process. Till next time folks.


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